Merry Christmas to all blog readers. One day late anyway. I know that some of the people from the poker forum actually read this thing, and I've talked to enough other random people to know that there is a group of people that actually read this thing. For whatever reason. So Merry Christmas.
I was in Lansing yesterday, but left to get back to Chicago since I had a wedding to go to tomorrow. So with nothing else to do on Christmas night, fired up a few poker tournaments, finished 2nd in the AP 30r. Truthfully I wasn't really even paying that close of attention to it until there were about 30 people left, but clearly I run good. The level of play in the AP 30r was pretty atrocious last night. My favorite was the guy who being determined to take a stand in the bb against the big stack, called off half his stack with 52o. And then flopped three deuces. WP sir.
But otherwise I continue to run good for the month of December, up about 11 grand or so at the moment. I'm not sure if I'm done for the year or if I'll try to sneak in one more day on Sunday. On Monday I'm flying down to Florida, and hanging out for the week with my parents and grandfather. In an RV. That's going to be an adventure.
Something that occurred to me last night after I made a particularly horrific river bluff after betting the turn: I need to learn when to slow down when I've taken a shot at the pot that hasn't worked. Particuarly when the range of hands that are calling on the turn and folding on the river is particularly low, which was the case last night. Felt I was better than the player I played against last night, but that one bluff really cost me. Still, even with high blinds, tried to play small ball, gradually chip up, and as a result had chip lead when we got it in for a tournament defining flip for most of the chips. Which I lost. 2nd it is.
That's it for now. Year wrap up to come, as well as goals for next year. There will be many.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Last Full Day?
With my travel/holiday/wedding schedule upcoming, today is probably my last full day of poker of the year.
It certainly won't be my last day, I'm sure I'll sneak in some tourneys here and there, especially when I'm at home. But I'm playing from now until I get busted out of the nightly tournies today. Snuck into always donktastic Cake 30r just now, many more to come.
It'd be nice to go out on a good note, not a "I played all day and I'm down a grand" note.
It certainly won't be my last day, I'm sure I'll sneak in some tourneys here and there, especially when I'm at home. But I'm playing from now until I get busted out of the nightly tournies today. Snuck into always donktastic Cake 30r just now, many more to come.
It'd be nice to go out on a good note, not a "I played all day and I'm down a grand" note.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Ah So Close
Finished 12th in the Stars Nightly Hundred Grand a few nights ago. Finished 4th in the Cake 109 last night when I was the CL four handed. Ah being a multi player is a life of prepetual disappoinment. Except for those times when you feel really good.
The Cake end result was annoying. I was just rolling along, there was another fairly aggro player with the second big stack, but he was on my right, and I was occasionally three betting him with air essentially. Then there were two short stacks. Then ran QQ into KK into the other big stack. Now he's got about 500K chips, I've got 100K chips, and the two short stacks have about 50k. At this point, it takes on a little bit of a SNG dynamic, and I'm looking to raise the short stacks with anything decent and stay out of the big stacks way. It was another 1600 I think if I could move up to second, and only 1000 more for first. That may not be exactly right, but it's close. But I pick up 77 utg and 3k/6k, decide that's too good to just fold outright because I'm really only afraid of the big stack picking up a hand. Who of course had JJ. Sigh.
I think that tilted me a bit, because I played a little loose the rest of the night. Ah well. Still having a pretty good month overall.
Snow has totally taken over Chicago. I'm enjoying it really. I don't even mind that it's cold.
The Cake end result was annoying. I was just rolling along, there was another fairly aggro player with the second big stack, but he was on my right, and I was occasionally three betting him with air essentially. Then there were two short stacks. Then ran QQ into KK into the other big stack. Now he's got about 500K chips, I've got 100K chips, and the two short stacks have about 50k. At this point, it takes on a little bit of a SNG dynamic, and I'm looking to raise the short stacks with anything decent and stay out of the big stacks way. It was another 1600 I think if I could move up to second, and only 1000 more for first. That may not be exactly right, but it's close. But I pick up 77 utg and 3k/6k, decide that's too good to just fold outright because I'm really only afraid of the big stack picking up a hand. Who of course had JJ. Sigh.
I think that tilted me a bit, because I played a little loose the rest of the night. Ah well. Still having a pretty good month overall.
Snow has totally taken over Chicago. I'm enjoying it really. I don't even mind that it's cold.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Ship 20K, Other Thoughts
Shipped 20K DS on Monday to get the month going. Some hands.
Stage #1349647478 Tourney ID 2111543 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $4000 - 2008-12-09 01:16:43 (ET)
Table: 7 (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 1 - MRQUIETSTRM ($81830.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - WAWA711 ($152343.50 in chips)
Seat 4 - CMB8757 ($243535.25 in chips)
Seat 5 - IMPROVED ($127797.75 in chips)
Seat 6 - BZIMZIM ($80146 in chips)
Seat 7 - DZ00NUTS ($219343 in chips)
Seat 8 - SPUNKMONKEYB ($60004 in chips)
MRQUIETSTRM - Ante $400
WAWA711 - Ante $400
CMB8757 - Ante $400
IMPROVED - Ante $400
BZIMZIM - Ante $400
DZ00NUTS - Ante $400
SPUNKMONKEYB - Ante $400
CMB8757 - Posts small blind $2000
IMPROVED - Posts big blind $4000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Qc Qh]
BZIMZIM - Raises $10100 to $10100
DZ00NUTS - Calls $10100
SPUNKMONKEYB - Folds
MRQUIETSTRM - Folds
WAWA711 - Folds
CMB8757 - Folds
IMPROVED - Folds
*** FLOP *** [Qd 8d 8s]
BZIMZIM - Bets $16000
DZ00NUTS - Calls $16000
*** TURN *** [Qd 8d 8s] [4s]
BZIMZIM - Checks
DZ00NUTS - Bets $8000
BZIMZIM - All-In(Raise) $53646 to $53646
DZ00NUTS - Calls $45646
*** RIVER *** [Qd 8d 8s 4s] [4c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BZIMZIM - Shows [Qc Qh] (Full house, queens full of eights)
DZ00NUTS - Shows [Qs 8c] (Full house, eights full of queens)
BZIMZIM Collects $168292 from main pot
DZ is a AP tourney regular, but he was doing this a lot where he was calling preflop with a lot of marginal hands in this tourney, flatting from the button from 76o and the like. I remember him calling a little more playing against him before, but nothing like this. I'm not sure what he was doing frankly. And then of course the flop was absolutely filthy. But these are the moments you need in tournaments to win them.
Stage #1349656817 Tourney ID 2111543 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $4000 - 2008-12-09 01:25:40 (ET)
Table: 7 (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 1 - MRQUIETSTRM ($65030.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - WAWA711 ($287262 in chips)
Seat 4 - CMB8757 ($241535.25 in chips)
Seat 6 - BZIMZIM ($261322 in chips)
Seat 7 - DZ00NUTS ($109850.25 in chips)
MRQUIETSTRM - Ante $400
WAWA711 - Ante $400
CMB8757 - Ante $400
BZIMZIM - Ante $400
DZ00NUTS - Ante $400
CMB8757 - Posts small blind $2000
BZIMZIM - Posts big blind $4000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [As 8h]
DZ00NUTS - Folds
MRQUIETSTRM - Folds
WAWA711 - Raises $12000 to $12000
CMB8757 - Folds
BZIMZIM - Calls $8000
*** FLOP *** [2c 6c 4h]
BZIMZIM - Checks
WAWA711 - Bets $16000
BZIMZIM - Calls $16000
*** TURN *** [2c 6c 4h] [Ad]
BZIMZIM - Checks
WAWA711 - Bets $36000
BZIMZIM - Calls $36000
*** RIVER *** [2c 6c 4h Ad] [Kh]
BZIMZIM - Checks
WAWA711 - Bets $52000
BZIMZIM - Calls $52000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
WAWA711 - Shows [Qd 5d] (ace high)
BZIMZIM - Shows [As 8h] (One pair, aces)
BZIMZIM Collects $236000 from main pot
Speaking of the moments you need in tournaments, you have to have the one hand where the other guy calls you a donkey. Haha. Wawa had been raising a lot from the button, so I feel like I'm ahead of his range, so decide to flat here, which I like to do some with a variety of hands (suited connectors, medium strength hands like this one, monsters) once we get shorthanded. The call on the flop was what I took crap for. I felt like there was a good chance I was good, given how I perceived his range preflop, but didn't want to unleash a c/r, cause what am I representing on that board? So I call, wanting to see what he'll do on the air, and willing to c/r with air if I feel like I can take it away. Instead the A pops off the turn. Now I feel like I'm good, obviously, easy check and call for value, plus I want to control the pot in case I have run into a better ace. The river may be a value bet, bet there's certainly no folding as soft as I've played the hand. Ship.
Stage #1349675522 Tourney ID 2111543 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $5000 - 2008-12-09 01:44:16 (ET)
Table: 7 (Real Money) Seat #6 is the dealer
Seat 3 - WAWA711 ($107331.50 in chips)
Seat 4 - CMB8757 ($361396.25 in chips)
Seat 6 - BZIMZIM ($496272.25 in chips)
WAWA711 - Ante $500
CMB8757 - Ante $500
BZIMZIM - Ante $500
WAWA711 - Posts small blind $2500
CMB8757 - Posts big blind $5000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Qc Kd]
BZIMZIM - Raises $12600 to $12600
WAWA711 - Folds
CMB8757 - Raises $37200 to $42200
BZIMZIM - Calls $29600
*** FLOP *** [Jh 8s 6h]
CMB8757 - Bets $55000
BZIMZIM - Raises $135000 to $135000
CMB8757 - Folds
BZIMZIM - returned ($80000) : not called
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BZIMZIM - Does not show
BZIMZIM Collects $198400 from main pot
I've been raising from the button wide. I expect to get 3 bet decently wide. I find a hand I can call with here with KQ and take a flop in position. I raise here with air, er, two overs, and obviously I've gotten myself in big trouble if he shoved. But he knows I'm priced in with a draw and can't make me fold. Basically if he reshoves, the only thing I can think about folding is total air. So in a sort of reverse thinking, that actually makes him more likely to fold I think. And to shove here, he really needs an overpair a J, or maybe second pair or a mid pp if he just doesn't believe me at all and puts me on a draw. Basically I think he has to fold a lot of his wide three bet range here. And I just didn't read strength. And there's a good difference between second and third and he's still got a good deal of chips on the short stack if he folds. So overall it's a good play. I think. That was my reasoning behind the move anyway. Worked that time.
From there mostly cruised to first place. Needed that to get going after I didn't play much the first week of the month. I didn't even have anything going on except I was sick. I remember playing on the first Monday of the month and at one point thinking, wow, I'm playing terrible. So it was a light week. I played big days Monday and Tuesday this week, and I'll get in a full night session tonight. Second half of the month will be much busier, so trying to get hours in now. For the moment up 5500 for the month. Let's see if I can get it going tonight.
I'm on the Northwestern football mailing list, because I bought tickets to the Ohio State game through them once. They're going to the Valero Alamo Bowl to play Missouri, and the email I got says the Alamo Bowl: "For all the glory." I can promise Northwestern that there's no glory in the Alamo Bowl. Also they're probably going to lose.
An ESPN columnist wrote another "this is a big bowl season for the Big 10" column. It's true to a degree, because every bowl season becomes a measuring stick of the conferences. But why just us? It isn't a big bowl season for the horrid Pac-10, awful Big East or the consistently medicore at best ACC? Why don't those conferences have to prove anything? For that matter, if Ole Miss is the third best team in the SEC, they weren't really that great either. Whatever. Meanwhile, the top two teams in the Big Ten play the two best teams in the country that aren't in the title game. Yeah I'm not optimistic.
Time to go to work.
Stage #1349647478 Tourney ID 2111543 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $4000 - 2008-12-09 01:16:43 (ET)
Table: 7 (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 1 - MRQUIETSTRM ($81830.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - WAWA711 ($152343.50 in chips)
Seat 4 - CMB8757 ($243535.25 in chips)
Seat 5 - IMPROVED ($127797.75 in chips)
Seat 6 - BZIMZIM ($80146 in chips)
Seat 7 - DZ00NUTS ($219343 in chips)
Seat 8 - SPUNKMONKEYB ($60004 in chips)
MRQUIETSTRM - Ante $400
WAWA711 - Ante $400
CMB8757 - Ante $400
IMPROVED - Ante $400
BZIMZIM - Ante $400
DZ00NUTS - Ante $400
SPUNKMONKEYB - Ante $400
CMB8757 - Posts small blind $2000
IMPROVED - Posts big blind $4000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Qc Qh]
BZIMZIM - Raises $10100 to $10100
DZ00NUTS - Calls $10100
SPUNKMONKEYB - Folds
MRQUIETSTRM - Folds
WAWA711 - Folds
CMB8757 - Folds
IMPROVED - Folds
*** FLOP *** [Qd 8d 8s]
BZIMZIM - Bets $16000
DZ00NUTS - Calls $16000
*** TURN *** [Qd 8d 8s] [4s]
BZIMZIM - Checks
DZ00NUTS - Bets $8000
BZIMZIM - All-In(Raise) $53646 to $53646
DZ00NUTS - Calls $45646
*** RIVER *** [Qd 8d 8s 4s] [4c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BZIMZIM - Shows [Qc Qh] (Full house, queens full of eights)
DZ00NUTS - Shows [Qs 8c] (Full house, eights full of queens)
BZIMZIM Collects $168292 from main pot
DZ is a AP tourney regular, but he was doing this a lot where he was calling preflop with a lot of marginal hands in this tourney, flatting from the button from 76o and the like. I remember him calling a little more playing against him before, but nothing like this. I'm not sure what he was doing frankly. And then of course the flop was absolutely filthy. But these are the moments you need in tournaments to win them.
Stage #1349656817 Tourney ID 2111543 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $4000 - 2008-12-09 01:25:40 (ET)
Table: 7 (Real Money) Seat #3 is the dealer
Seat 1 - MRQUIETSTRM ($65030.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - WAWA711 ($287262 in chips)
Seat 4 - CMB8757 ($241535.25 in chips)
Seat 6 - BZIMZIM ($261322 in chips)
Seat 7 - DZ00NUTS ($109850.25 in chips)
MRQUIETSTRM - Ante $400
WAWA711 - Ante $400
CMB8757 - Ante $400
BZIMZIM - Ante $400
DZ00NUTS - Ante $400
CMB8757 - Posts small blind $2000
BZIMZIM - Posts big blind $4000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [As 8h]
DZ00NUTS - Folds
MRQUIETSTRM - Folds
WAWA711 - Raises $12000 to $12000
CMB8757 - Folds
BZIMZIM - Calls $8000
*** FLOP *** [2c 6c 4h]
BZIMZIM - Checks
WAWA711 - Bets $16000
BZIMZIM - Calls $16000
*** TURN *** [2c 6c 4h] [Ad]
BZIMZIM - Checks
WAWA711 - Bets $36000
BZIMZIM - Calls $36000
*** RIVER *** [2c 6c 4h Ad] [Kh]
BZIMZIM - Checks
WAWA711 - Bets $52000
BZIMZIM - Calls $52000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
WAWA711 - Shows [Qd 5d] (ace high)
BZIMZIM - Shows [As 8h] (One pair, aces)
BZIMZIM Collects $236000 from main pot
Speaking of the moments you need in tournaments, you have to have the one hand where the other guy calls you a donkey. Haha. Wawa had been raising a lot from the button, so I feel like I'm ahead of his range, so decide to flat here, which I like to do some with a variety of hands (suited connectors, medium strength hands like this one, monsters) once we get shorthanded. The call on the flop was what I took crap for. I felt like there was a good chance I was good, given how I perceived his range preflop, but didn't want to unleash a c/r, cause what am I representing on that board? So I call, wanting to see what he'll do on the air, and willing to c/r with air if I feel like I can take it away. Instead the A pops off the turn. Now I feel like I'm good, obviously, easy check and call for value, plus I want to control the pot in case I have run into a better ace. The river may be a value bet, bet there's certainly no folding as soft as I've played the hand. Ship.
Stage #1349675522 Tourney ID 2111543 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $5000 - 2008-12-09 01:44:16 (ET)
Table: 7 (Real Money) Seat #6 is the dealer
Seat 3 - WAWA711 ($107331.50 in chips)
Seat 4 - CMB8757 ($361396.25 in chips)
Seat 6 - BZIMZIM ($496272.25 in chips)
WAWA711 - Ante $500
CMB8757 - Ante $500
BZIMZIM - Ante $500
WAWA711 - Posts small blind $2500
CMB8757 - Posts big blind $5000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Qc Kd]
BZIMZIM - Raises $12600 to $12600
WAWA711 - Folds
CMB8757 - Raises $37200 to $42200
BZIMZIM - Calls $29600
*** FLOP *** [Jh 8s 6h]
CMB8757 - Bets $55000
BZIMZIM - Raises $135000 to $135000
CMB8757 - Folds
BZIMZIM - returned ($80000) : not called
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BZIMZIM - Does not show
BZIMZIM Collects $198400 from main pot
I've been raising from the button wide. I expect to get 3 bet decently wide. I find a hand I can call with here with KQ and take a flop in position. I raise here with air, er, two overs, and obviously I've gotten myself in big trouble if he shoved. But he knows I'm priced in with a draw and can't make me fold. Basically if he reshoves, the only thing I can think about folding is total air. So in a sort of reverse thinking, that actually makes him more likely to fold I think. And to shove here, he really needs an overpair a J, or maybe second pair or a mid pp if he just doesn't believe me at all and puts me on a draw. Basically I think he has to fold a lot of his wide three bet range here. And I just didn't read strength. And there's a good difference between second and third and he's still got a good deal of chips on the short stack if he folds. So overall it's a good play. I think. That was my reasoning behind the move anyway. Worked that time.
From there mostly cruised to first place. Needed that to get going after I didn't play much the first week of the month. I didn't even have anything going on except I was sick. I remember playing on the first Monday of the month and at one point thinking, wow, I'm playing terrible. So it was a light week. I played big days Monday and Tuesday this week, and I'll get in a full night session tonight. Second half of the month will be much busier, so trying to get hours in now. For the moment up 5500 for the month. Let's see if I can get it going tonight.
I'm on the Northwestern football mailing list, because I bought tickets to the Ohio State game through them once. They're going to the Valero Alamo Bowl to play Missouri, and the email I got says the Alamo Bowl: "For all the glory." I can promise Northwestern that there's no glory in the Alamo Bowl. Also they're probably going to lose.
An ESPN columnist wrote another "this is a big bowl season for the Big 10" column. It's true to a degree, because every bowl season becomes a measuring stick of the conferences. But why just us? It isn't a big bowl season for the horrid Pac-10, awful Big East or the consistently medicore at best ACC? Why don't those conferences have to prove anything? For that matter, if Ole Miss is the third best team in the SEC, they weren't really that great either. Whatever. Meanwhile, the top two teams in the Big Ten play the two best teams in the country that aren't in the title game. Yeah I'm not optimistic.
Time to go to work.
Monday, December 1, 2008
November Wrap
Not bad at all for a light volume month.
Month: +$5438
Year: $74,832
Now just have to close the year out strong, and I feel like I've succeeded for the year. Look Ma, I can make it as a poker player and all that. I was still somewhat disappointed in the showings I had at final tables this month, I was one breakthrough away from having a significantly better month. I still feel like I'm due for a big cash here at some point.
I was playing the Cake 30r, as I often do, and RespectMGame, who's a tourney regular there, said hi and actually knew my name. I can't remember if I told him (that I can recall) or if he got it from some other source. Or if I know him from another site. Hmm. Interesting.
It appears I was jumping the gun a little bit on the death of some of those AP tourneys. The nooner 20r returned after only one day, apparently by popular demand. The $109 at 10:30 is gone though, I always ran well in that tournament. Also gone are the $55s that I couldn't turn down just because they were free money cause the play was so horrific.
Obama just introducted Hilary as Secretary of State. It looks like reaching out, when in reality he now totally controls her destiny. It's brilliant. He's proven his politically savvy; now I just hope he has the will to pursue a liberal agenda aggressively.
Ohio State basketball starts for real this week with Miami (FL) and Notre Dame. Football team should get a BCS bid. Lakers are rolling. The Bengals are an embarassment to the sport of football.
Back to Chicago today, sometime, hopefully when it stops snowing.
Month: +$5438
Year: $74,832
Now just have to close the year out strong, and I feel like I've succeeded for the year. Look Ma, I can make it as a poker player and all that. I was still somewhat disappointed in the showings I had at final tables this month, I was one breakthrough away from having a significantly better month. I still feel like I'm due for a big cash here at some point.
I was playing the Cake 30r, as I often do, and RespectMGame, who's a tourney regular there, said hi and actually knew my name. I can't remember if I told him (that I can recall) or if he got it from some other source. Or if I know him from another site. Hmm. Interesting.
It appears I was jumping the gun a little bit on the death of some of those AP tourneys. The nooner 20r returned after only one day, apparently by popular demand. The $109 at 10:30 is gone though, I always ran well in that tournament. Also gone are the $55s that I couldn't turn down just because they were free money cause the play was so horrific.
Obama just introducted Hilary as Secretary of State. It looks like reaching out, when in reality he now totally controls her destiny. It's brilliant. He's proven his politically savvy; now I just hope he has the will to pursue a liberal agenda aggressively.
Ohio State basketball starts for real this week with Miami (FL) and Notre Dame. Football team should get a BCS bid. Lakers are rolling. The Bengals are an embarassment to the sport of football.
Back to Chicago today, sometime, hopefully when it stops snowing.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
The Death of AP
Four years ago I put 30 bucks on a little site called Absolute Poker. Somehow that took me down a path to where I now play poker for a living. AP died today, and will be missed.
Of course that's not really quite right, it's combining with Ultimate Bet to form Cereus. Annoying note number 1: instead of just combining our accounts, we have to pick a new sn for our UB account. I picked bzimzimm. I'm clever. But then, since I only had about 2 grand in there anyway, I promptly withdrew all the money from it save about two dollars, and I'll just use my AP account as my Cereus account. I just don't think I could part with the Ohio State logo I've had up for about three years, and the random hecklers it brings out.
One way AP does seem to be dying is that Cereus seems to be adopting what is primarily the UB tournament schedule. Today I woke up and there was no 20r at noon (11 ct). It was kind of sad. This was the defining hand from the last AP 20r ever:
Stage #1328615593 Tourney ID 2112826 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1000 - 2008-11-24 14:30:35 (ET)
Table: 15 (Real Money) Seat #7 is the dealer
Seat 1 - TCB21 ($11785 in chips)
Seat 2 - MIKECHR23 ($16155 in chips)
Seat 3 - EMPHORROR ($18673.50 in chips)
Seat 4 - CARWA78 ($8515 in chips)
Seat 5 - JP106623 ($17275 in chips)
Seat 6 - SHUNYOK ($45697.50 in chips)
Seat 7 - DOUBLET8 ($45585 in chips)
Seat 8 - BZIMZIM ($11565 in chips)
Seat 9 - BILLCARD15 ($9947.50 in chips)
TCB21 - Ante $100
MIKECHR23 - Ante $100
EMPHORROR - Ante $100
CARWA78 - Ante $100
JP106623 - Ante $100
SHUNYOK - Ante $100
DOUBLET8 - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Ante $100
BILLCARD15 - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Posts small blind $500
BILLCARD15 - Posts big blind $1000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Ac Qh]
TCB21 - Folds
MIKECHR23 - Folds
EMPHORROR - Folds
CARWA78 - All-In(Raise) $8415 to $8415
JP106623 - Folds
SHUNYOK - Folds
DOUBLET8 - Folds
BZIMZIM - All-In(Raise) $10965 to $11465
BILLCARD15 - Folds
BZIMZIM - returned ($3050) : not called
*** FLOP *** [8s 2d 9s]
*** TURN *** [8s 2d 9s] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [8s 2d 9s Js] [3s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
CARWA78 - Shows [Ad 8d] (One pair, eights)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Ac Qh] (ace high)
CARWA78 Collects $18730 from main pot
So it goes.
Otherwise having an ok month, I've been playing a lot when I have time so it hasn't been quite as low a volume as I feared I might be. I was CL at FT of Stars 20 1r1a yesterday and finished sixth. I continue to run bad (play bad?) at final tables. Played a big pot with AQs on A64 flop with flush draw as well, other guy had set. Still wondering if I should have slowed down a bet, we were sort of deep, and I felt like I was up against a set. Meh, I don't know. Here's a good read I made to get the CL in the first place.
PokerStars Game #22335974289: Tournament #122500787, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level XIX (3000/6000) - 2008/11/24 19:19:11 ET
Table '122500787 38' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: DibicDave (173256 in chips)
Seat 2: achillezzzzz (143861 in chips)
Seat 4: JJ_69UK (329612 in chips)
Seat 5: Ice B (301513 in chips)
Seat 6: Snabel_Tann (67486 in chips)
Seat 7: GrandPrixGT (85025 in chips)
Seat 8: bzimzim (507924 in chips)
Seat 9: larryc123 (119928 in chips)
DibicDave: posts the ante 600
achillezzzzz: posts the ante 600
JJ_69UK: posts the ante 600
Ice B: posts the ante 600
Snabel_Tann: posts the ante 600
GrandPrixGT: posts the ante 600
bzimzim: posts the ante 600
larryc123: posts the ante 600
Ice B: posts small blind 3000
Snabel_Tann: posts big blind 6000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bzimzim [As Ts]
GrandPrixGT: folds
bzimzim: raises 9100 to 15100
larryc123: folds
DibicDave: folds
achillezzzzz: folds
JJ_69UK: calls 15100
Ice B: folds
Snabel_Tann: folds
*** FLOP *** [Jd Qh Ad]
bzimzim: bets 24000
JJ_69UK: calls 24000
*** TURN *** [Jd Qh Ad] [6h]
bzimzim: checks
JJ_69UK: checks
*** RIVER *** [Jd Qh Ad 6h] [4h]
bzimzim: bets 36000
JJ_69UK: raises 253912 to 289912 and is all-in
bzimzim: calls 253912
*** SHOW DOWN ***
JJ_69UK: shows [Jh Ks] (a pair of Jacks)
bzimzim: shows [As Ts] (a pair of Aces)
bzimzim collected 671824 from pot
I'd be playing with that guy for awhile, had a read on him pretty good and thought the odds he was making a move were very high. Just couldn't put him on a hand unless he backdoored that flush.
I've been running good just donking around four tabling 1/2 NL cash, been an easy way to make a couple quick hundred. Think I may start throwing in an hour or two of cash before I start playing tournaments for the day, both for some easy money and to improve cash game skills.
So I set up an account on Doyle's Room but apparently they won't let me access it because I'm in Illinois. I don't know if Illinois has some specific law that makes them more cautious, but I haven't heard anything about it or had any problems on any other sites. That's an interesting red flag with the regulations coming out for the anti-online gaming law, I don't know if those two are related.
42-7 is a beautiful score. My God Michigan is a horrible football team though. Just awful.
Another work day today before I head to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving via Lansing. RIP AP rebuys.
Of course that's not really quite right, it's combining with Ultimate Bet to form Cereus. Annoying note number 1: instead of just combining our accounts, we have to pick a new sn for our UB account. I picked bzimzimm. I'm clever. But then, since I only had about 2 grand in there anyway, I promptly withdrew all the money from it save about two dollars, and I'll just use my AP account as my Cereus account. I just don't think I could part with the Ohio State logo I've had up for about three years, and the random hecklers it brings out.
One way AP does seem to be dying is that Cereus seems to be adopting what is primarily the UB tournament schedule. Today I woke up and there was no 20r at noon (11 ct). It was kind of sad. This was the defining hand from the last AP 20r ever:
Stage #1328615593 Tourney ID 2112826 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1000 - 2008-11-24 14:30:35 (ET)
Table: 15 (Real Money) Seat #7 is the dealer
Seat 1 - TCB21 ($11785 in chips)
Seat 2 - MIKECHR23 ($16155 in chips)
Seat 3 - EMPHORROR ($18673.50 in chips)
Seat 4 - CARWA78 ($8515 in chips)
Seat 5 - JP106623 ($17275 in chips)
Seat 6 - SHUNYOK ($45697.50 in chips)
Seat 7 - DOUBLET8 ($45585 in chips)
Seat 8 - BZIMZIM ($11565 in chips)
Seat 9 - BILLCARD15 ($9947.50 in chips)
TCB21 - Ante $100
MIKECHR23 - Ante $100
EMPHORROR - Ante $100
CARWA78 - Ante $100
JP106623 - Ante $100
SHUNYOK - Ante $100
DOUBLET8 - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Ante $100
BILLCARD15 - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Posts small blind $500
BILLCARD15 - Posts big blind $1000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Ac Qh]
TCB21 - Folds
MIKECHR23 - Folds
EMPHORROR - Folds
CARWA78 - All-In(Raise) $8415 to $8415
JP106623 - Folds
SHUNYOK - Folds
DOUBLET8 - Folds
BZIMZIM - All-In(Raise) $10965 to $11465
BILLCARD15 - Folds
BZIMZIM - returned ($3050) : not called
*** FLOP *** [8s 2d 9s]
*** TURN *** [8s 2d 9s] [Js]
*** RIVER *** [8s 2d 9s Js] [3s]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
CARWA78 - Shows [Ad 8d] (One pair, eights)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Ac Qh] (ace high)
CARWA78 Collects $18730 from main pot
So it goes.
Otherwise having an ok month, I've been playing a lot when I have time so it hasn't been quite as low a volume as I feared I might be. I was CL at FT of Stars 20 1r1a yesterday and finished sixth. I continue to run bad (play bad?) at final tables. Played a big pot with AQs on A64 flop with flush draw as well, other guy had set. Still wondering if I should have slowed down a bet, we were sort of deep, and I felt like I was up against a set. Meh, I don't know. Here's a good read I made to get the CL in the first place.
PokerStars Game #22335974289: Tournament #122500787, $20+$2 Hold'em No Limit - Level XIX (3000/6000) - 2008/11/24 19:19:11 ET
Table '122500787 38' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: DibicDave (173256 in chips)
Seat 2: achillezzzzz (143861 in chips)
Seat 4: JJ_69UK (329612 in chips)
Seat 5: Ice B (301513 in chips)
Seat 6: Snabel_Tann (67486 in chips)
Seat 7: GrandPrixGT (85025 in chips)
Seat 8: bzimzim (507924 in chips)
Seat 9: larryc123 (119928 in chips)
DibicDave: posts the ante 600
achillezzzzz: posts the ante 600
JJ_69UK: posts the ante 600
Ice B: posts the ante 600
Snabel_Tann: posts the ante 600
GrandPrixGT: posts the ante 600
bzimzim: posts the ante 600
larryc123: posts the ante 600
Ice B: posts small blind 3000
Snabel_Tann: posts big blind 6000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bzimzim [As Ts]
GrandPrixGT: folds
bzimzim: raises 9100 to 15100
larryc123: folds
DibicDave: folds
achillezzzzz: folds
JJ_69UK: calls 15100
Ice B: folds
Snabel_Tann: folds
*** FLOP *** [Jd Qh Ad]
bzimzim: bets 24000
JJ_69UK: calls 24000
*** TURN *** [Jd Qh Ad] [6h]
bzimzim: checks
JJ_69UK: checks
*** RIVER *** [Jd Qh Ad 6h] [4h]
bzimzim: bets 36000
JJ_69UK: raises 253912 to 289912 and is all-in
bzimzim: calls 253912
*** SHOW DOWN ***
JJ_69UK: shows [Jh Ks] (a pair of Jacks)
bzimzim: shows [As Ts] (a pair of Aces)
bzimzim collected 671824 from pot
I'd be playing with that guy for awhile, had a read on him pretty good and thought the odds he was making a move were very high. Just couldn't put him on a hand unless he backdoored that flush.
I've been running good just donking around four tabling 1/2 NL cash, been an easy way to make a couple quick hundred. Think I may start throwing in an hour or two of cash before I start playing tournaments for the day, both for some easy money and to improve cash game skills.
So I set up an account on Doyle's Room but apparently they won't let me access it because I'm in Illinois. I don't know if Illinois has some specific law that makes them more cautious, but I haven't heard anything about it or had any problems on any other sites. That's an interesting red flag with the regulations coming out for the anti-online gaming law, I don't know if those two are related.
42-7 is a beautiful score. My God Michigan is a horrible football team though. Just awful.
Another work day today before I head to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving via Lansing. RIP AP rebuys.
Friday, November 14, 2008
I Run Like a God on AP
FT of both 30r and 8k last night. The 8k only had 66 people, so a little overlay, which is nice. Unfortunately that tourney keeps shrinking field-wise. I worry that AP will keep making the guarantee smaller or just do away with it altogether at some point. There used to be a $109 4.5K on AP 1 ct, the field was so small it almost wasn't worth playing, since it was mostly AP regulars without your usual AP mix of total donkeys.
Ended up heads up with foolishgolf in 8k, had 2:1 CL, aipf two hands in a row, 77>99 and TT>AK. Ah well, foolish is a nice guy. Also I'm a lot less annoyed if I got two outed then when I play badly, as I did at a couple FTs earlier this month.
Ran like crap everywhere else yesterday, couldn't win a flip on any other site to save my life.
Up 2100 for the month, now I have to try to find time to play for the rest of the month.
Ended up heads up with foolishgolf in 8k, had 2:1 CL, aipf two hands in a row, 77>99 and TT>AK. Ah well, foolish is a nice guy. Also I'm a lot less annoyed if I got two outed then when I play badly, as I did at a couple FTs earlier this month.
Ran like crap everywhere else yesterday, couldn't win a flip on any other site to save my life.
Up 2100 for the month, now I have to try to find time to play for the rest of the month.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Very Annoying Bubbles/Some Terrible Play
So this is an entry I was going to write before I went to Middletown, but never got to it. Before I left, I was in the Stars Super Tuesday, right before the bubble when this happened:
PokerStars Game #21206295502: Tournament #113525268, $1000+$50 Hold'em No Limit - Level XII (500/1000) - 2008/10/14 23:55:40 ET
Table '113525268 6' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: gregior (9783 in chips)
Seat 2: BabyGrand (13111 in chips)
Seat 3: g0lfa (77699 in chips)
Seat 5: HopeUfold (7675 in chips)
Seat 6: poker_lord76 (18432 in chips)
Seat 7: ael1979 (7444 in chips)
Seat 8: bzimzim (36961 in chips)
gregior: posts the ante 100
BabyGrand: posts the ante 100
g0lfa: posts the ante 100
HopeUfold: posts the ante 100
poker_lord76: posts the ante 100
ael1979: posts the ante 100
bzimzim: posts the ante 100
ael1979: posts small blind 500
bzimzim: posts big blind 1000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bzimzim [Ac Ks]
gregior: folds
BabyGrand: folds
g0lfa: raises 1355 to 2355
HopeUfold: folds
poker_lord76: folds
ael1979: folds
bzimzim: raises 5255 to 7610
g0lfa: raises 69989 to 77599 and is all-in
bzimzim: calls 29251 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (40738) returned to g0lfa
*** FLOP *** [6c Js 7h]
*** TURN *** [6c Js 7h] [3h]
*** RIVER *** [6c Js 7h 3h] [8c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bzimzim: shows [Ac Ks] (high card Ace)
g0lfa: shows [Qs Qc] (a pair of Queens)
g0lfa collected 74922 from pot
And out for 46th and the bubble.
Obviously, this is extremely annoying on several levels. First, I'd qualified in, so the $1200 for 45th meant something to me, as opposed to normally where I don't care at all if I bubble out playing to win. I had a top ten stack at the time of this pot, so it was unexpected for sure. Would have had a top three stack if I'd won the flip though. With 70K for first, that woulda been a good flip to win.
The hand itself was interesting, because the chip leader opened, and I expected to be able to take it away fairly easily with the 3 bet. Instead he just shoved. Well that caught me be surprise. But I wondered if it was because he thought I was 3 betting weak because he'd been opening so much. In the end he showed down a real hand, nh, gg.
I can't seem to find the HH, but I flipped for another top 3 stack with AK in the UB 80k the next day, K on flop, T on river against TT. Out in 42nd and another bubble (well practically). That was just annoying. Only 20k for first in that one, but still, I win too many flips in small tourneys. I'd trade them for a few in a row in a big tourney. Been awhile for me and a big score.
Since being back from the Obama victory, I've been at a couple final tables and played horrifically. Played terrible at AP 30r a few nights ago, 4 betting 8s into QQ pre. Then I was big CL three handed in Cake 25r the other day, and managed to finish third, with some plays I'm too embarassed to even type. Not exactly taking advantange of my opportunities this month. Pretty annoyed at myself.
Back to work tonight.
PokerStars Game #21206295502: Tournament #113525268, $1000+$50 Hold'em No Limit - Level XII (500/1000) - 2008/10/14 23:55:40 ET
Table '113525268 6' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: gregior (9783 in chips)
Seat 2: BabyGrand (13111 in chips)
Seat 3: g0lfa (77699 in chips)
Seat 5: HopeUfold (7675 in chips)
Seat 6: poker_lord76 (18432 in chips)
Seat 7: ael1979 (7444 in chips)
Seat 8: bzimzim (36961 in chips)
gregior: posts the ante 100
BabyGrand: posts the ante 100
g0lfa: posts the ante 100
HopeUfold: posts the ante 100
poker_lord76: posts the ante 100
ael1979: posts the ante 100
bzimzim: posts the ante 100
ael1979: posts small blind 500
bzimzim: posts big blind 1000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to bzimzim [Ac Ks]
gregior: folds
BabyGrand: folds
g0lfa: raises 1355 to 2355
HopeUfold: folds
poker_lord76: folds
ael1979: folds
bzimzim: raises 5255 to 7610
g0lfa: raises 69989 to 77599 and is all-in
bzimzim: calls 29251 and is all-in
Uncalled bet (40738) returned to g0lfa
*** FLOP *** [6c Js 7h]
*** TURN *** [6c Js 7h] [3h]
*** RIVER *** [6c Js 7h 3h] [8c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bzimzim: shows [Ac Ks] (high card Ace)
g0lfa: shows [Qs Qc] (a pair of Queens)
g0lfa collected 74922 from pot
And out for 46th and the bubble.
Obviously, this is extremely annoying on several levels. First, I'd qualified in, so the $1200 for 45th meant something to me, as opposed to normally where I don't care at all if I bubble out playing to win. I had a top ten stack at the time of this pot, so it was unexpected for sure. Would have had a top three stack if I'd won the flip though. With 70K for first, that woulda been a good flip to win.
The hand itself was interesting, because the chip leader opened, and I expected to be able to take it away fairly easily with the 3 bet. Instead he just shoved. Well that caught me be surprise. But I wondered if it was because he thought I was 3 betting weak because he'd been opening so much. In the end he showed down a real hand, nh, gg.
I can't seem to find the HH, but I flipped for another top 3 stack with AK in the UB 80k the next day, K on flop, T on river against TT. Out in 42nd and another bubble (well practically). That was just annoying. Only 20k for first in that one, but still, I win too many flips in small tourneys. I'd trade them for a few in a row in a big tourney. Been awhile for me and a big score.
Since being back from the Obama victory, I've been at a couple final tables and played horrifically. Played terrible at AP 30r a few nights ago, 4 betting 8s into QQ pre. Then I was big CL three handed in Cake 25r the other day, and managed to finish third, with some plays I'm too embarassed to even type. Not exactly taking advantange of my opportunities this month. Pretty annoyed at myself.
Back to work tonight.
Monday, November 10, 2008
October Wrap
This month pretty much redefined a "low volume" month, compared to all the other months that were low volume months. I didn't play at all after October 16. For that matter I've only played one day so far this month. That'll change today. But at least for October, I wasn't being lazy, I was helping to save my country. So that's a pretty good reason.
Month: +$2239
Year: +$69,394
Trying to crank it up the rest of this month, but I'll be out of town this weekend to Champaign, then probably to Columbus the week after for the last two Ohio State games. No excuse not to finish 10-2, with a BCS bowl being extremely likely if that happens. Also go Sparty. Anyway, then I'll be travelling to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving, so I'm going to have to take it while I can get it on poker this month. Maybe I'll just ship the Super Tuesday or something and call it a month. But barring a big score (which is always possible), it looks like the 100 grand goal I once proclaimed is looking more like a long shot. Ah well. I do need to spend more effort on improving my game though.
Work day today and tomorrow. MSNBC is on in the background, and told me that when Bush and Obama meet today, there will be some "joshing around". I remember why I don't watch news networks now.
Month: +$2239
Year: +$69,394
Trying to crank it up the rest of this month, but I'll be out of town this weekend to Champaign, then probably to Columbus the week after for the last two Ohio State games. No excuse not to finish 10-2, with a BCS bowl being extremely likely if that happens. Also go Sparty. Anyway, then I'll be travelling to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving, so I'm going to have to take it while I can get it on poker this month. Maybe I'll just ship the Super Tuesday or something and call it a month. But barring a big score (which is always possible), it looks like the 100 grand goal I once proclaimed is looking more like a long shot. Ah well. I do need to spend more effort on improving my game though.
Work day today and tomorrow. MSNBC is on in the background, and told me that when Bush and Obama meet today, there will be some "joshing around". I remember why I don't watch news networks now.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Back
And I'm back! Went to Middletown, Ohio for two weeks to help out before election day. So it's been awhile since I've played poker. Night session tonight. How about that.
Also I'm about four entries behind, which I'll make up in the next couple of days. One about the week before I left, Oct Wrap, Middletown, and goals for the rest of the year.
Also I'm about four entries behind, which I'll make up in the next couple of days. One about the week before I left, Oct Wrap, Middletown, and goals for the rest of the year.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Just Because You're A Professional Poker Player, Doesn't Mean You Can Beat 1/2 NL
Seriously. Apparently it doesn't.
So I went to the Horseshoe Casino, intending to play poker for ten-twelve hours and donk around at 1/2 NL. By the way, the Horseshoe itself is actually really nice. The poker room is much nicer than at Majestic Star or Ameristar. Anyway, so early on, wasn't hitting flops, then finally picked up 8s with only like 100 behind at that point. Raise, got like 5 callers. Gotta love cash games. Flop was 664, 2 hearts, bet like 25, everyone except bb folds. BB was a very good player. I put him on a draw, shoved, he beat me into the pot, oops. Reload time one. The shove was probably pretty bad.
Reload time two, pick up JJ in bb, bunch of limpers, button raises to 5 (whatever), I repop to 20, everyone else mucks, button calls. Flop is QQ3. I bet 30, button calls. Turn is a brick. I check, button immediately fires 100. Then he immediately starts staring at me intently in that "I'm looking strong but really want you to fold" kind of way. I put him on a mid pair and shove, he beats me into the pot. That needs to stop happening. He shows QJ and I'm drawing stone dead to the river. Jeesh. Also apparently I need to work on reading people.
So some of that was understandable and some of that was bad play. But I really wasn't too phased at this point. I was planning on being here for awhile, and the players around me weren't very good (or were typical for 1/2 NL). But what happened after that (you know, to lose the next 500) was one of the those "the poker gods are conspiring against you" days. I flopped top pair twice all day, and didn't win either pot. I had KK, QQ, JJ, and didn't win any of those pots. I was gambling some on preflop calls because there were a lot of decent pots built pre and just never hit anything. And then the final curse disguised as a gift was the psycho guy at my table who sat down. He raised to 20 dollars 90% of hands. The other 5-10% he raised bigger, $30, $50. He was just out of his mind. So I started calling with decent hands, because he'll inevitably stack off if I could hit a flop. But I couldn't. And I couldn't bluff, because he was never folding and therefore unbluffable. I kept making sure I had $200 behind for when I did hit. But I never did. Finally I picked up KK. I limped, with the intent to let psycho make a big raise. Except someone else raised to $12, and psycho just flatted. I put in $40 more, and psycho folded, the only time he ever folded pre.
The next hand I picked up AJ, and was just like screw it, I'm doing the same play, I'm guaranteed to be ahead of him. So I limped, he raised to 30, I put it another 100, which was pretty much what he had left. He called. The board came J75, 8, 6. And I thought, oh God. AJ, I called out. He showed down...J4o for a straight.
So at that point I only had 80 left, decided I was done reloading, I'd double it or go home. Bunch of limpers, button raises, I pick up AQ. He had KK. NH sir. I burned through $900 in four hours.
Anyway, I'm going back to the Horseshoe soon to change the karma of that place.
I am 27 today. Also 99 days until Bush leaves office. Party all around.
I'll be back to work for a full day tomorrow.
So I went to the Horseshoe Casino, intending to play poker for ten-twelve hours and donk around at 1/2 NL. By the way, the Horseshoe itself is actually really nice. The poker room is much nicer than at Majestic Star or Ameristar. Anyway, so early on, wasn't hitting flops, then finally picked up 8s with only like 100 behind at that point. Raise, got like 5 callers. Gotta love cash games. Flop was 664, 2 hearts, bet like 25, everyone except bb folds. BB was a very good player. I put him on a draw, shoved, he beat me into the pot, oops. Reload time one. The shove was probably pretty bad.
Reload time two, pick up JJ in bb, bunch of limpers, button raises to 5 (whatever), I repop to 20, everyone else mucks, button calls. Flop is QQ3. I bet 30, button calls. Turn is a brick. I check, button immediately fires 100. Then he immediately starts staring at me intently in that "I'm looking strong but really want you to fold" kind of way. I put him on a mid pair and shove, he beats me into the pot. That needs to stop happening. He shows QJ and I'm drawing stone dead to the river. Jeesh. Also apparently I need to work on reading people.
So some of that was understandable and some of that was bad play. But I really wasn't too phased at this point. I was planning on being here for awhile, and the players around me weren't very good (or were typical for 1/2 NL). But what happened after that (you know, to lose the next 500) was one of the those "the poker gods are conspiring against you" days. I flopped top pair twice all day, and didn't win either pot. I had KK, QQ, JJ, and didn't win any of those pots. I was gambling some on preflop calls because there were a lot of decent pots built pre and just never hit anything. And then the final curse disguised as a gift was the psycho guy at my table who sat down. He raised to 20 dollars 90% of hands. The other 5-10% he raised bigger, $30, $50. He was just out of his mind. So I started calling with decent hands, because he'll inevitably stack off if I could hit a flop. But I couldn't. And I couldn't bluff, because he was never folding and therefore unbluffable. I kept making sure I had $200 behind for when I did hit. But I never did. Finally I picked up KK. I limped, with the intent to let psycho make a big raise. Except someone else raised to $12, and psycho just flatted. I put in $40 more, and psycho folded, the only time he ever folded pre.
The next hand I picked up AJ, and was just like screw it, I'm doing the same play, I'm guaranteed to be ahead of him. So I limped, he raised to 30, I put it another 100, which was pretty much what he had left. He called. The board came J75, 8, 6. And I thought, oh God. AJ, I called out. He showed down...J4o for a straight.
So at that point I only had 80 left, decided I was done reloading, I'd double it or go home. Bunch of limpers, button raises, I pick up AQ. He had KK. NH sir. I burned through $900 in four hours.
Anyway, I'm going back to the Horseshoe soon to change the karma of that place.
I am 27 today. Also 99 days until Bush leaves office. Party all around.
I'll be back to work for a full day tomorrow.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Pwning FT Nooner Like It's The AP 30r
A funny thing has been happening lately. I've been winning on Full Tilt! I don't know if this is evidence of the apocalypse, or just that God likes me a little more than I thought he did. Been playing day sessions all week (until today anyway), so I've been playing the FT $109 that starts at 11 central, and I've finished third and second for a very solid week. Throw in a third in the Stars $22 1r1a, and I'm on about six grand heater over the past three days. Can't complain about that.
The one thing I can complain about is my play at the end of the Stars tournament. When it got to be three handed, I was catching absolutely nothing in the way of cards. Picked up 5s in the sb, raised, donkish bb called. Flop came T97, all hearts, I have 5h. I bet about 3/5 pot, bb calls. Turn is a 9. I have basically one pot sized bet left. Put it in here, or c/f? The call on the turn didn't tell me much, could be pair or draw, and the guys a donkey anyway. I decide to shove, and get looked up by K7 with Kh. So I'm dead to two outs, and then gone. Shoving bad here? That hand got me muttering to myself, but I think I've convinced myself my play was actually ok (or at least not awful) given the wide range he was calling with on the flop. Frankly, I'd expect him to raise that flop, and then I would have been gone. Oh well, whatever. I'm done thinking about that hand.
The FT $109 I finished third in was unfortunate, was CL in the tournament and couldn't fade a straight draw with no overs against second chip leader three handed. Then next hand got it in JJ against TT against same player, T on the flop. Had a won either of those pots no doubt I win that tournament for an extra 2.5K or so. On the other hand, I kind of ran like a God in that tournament while behind, so I can't really complain. The poker gods giveth, and taketh away.
So it's the 9th now, and I'm up 5300 or so. Very solid start to the month. Can't complain about that.
JohnnyBax was playing on Cake the other day in an afternoon 25R I was in. Or at the very least someone using his screen name. But I'm assuming it was him. He had like 50K in chips. Does this mean real players are going to start playing on Cake? That would be terrible! Leave my donkeys alone! I found 'em first! Plus some of the AP regulars seem to be making their way over there too. I guess you can't have that big a fishbowl without people finding out.
Terrelle Pryor is the truth.
Casino Day! Gonna go hit the new Horseshoe over in Indiana. I still haven't been there since it opened, which is completely unacceptable. So today is the day. I will, as usual while playing cash games, probably just donk around at 1/2 NL, be social and have a good time. Also I live a pretty good life.
After that it'll probably be a light weekend for playing. My birthday is Monday, so I'm having a get together on Saturday of, well, whoever exactly it is that shows up. Cooper's at 9, at Belmont and Racine, if you're interested coming, random blog reader. Whoever it is exactly that reads this thing (hi Mom?).
But yeah, may play Sunday, may not, depends on my mood. Once I clear my birthday I'll be back in full working mode.
The one thing I can complain about is my play at the end of the Stars tournament. When it got to be three handed, I was catching absolutely nothing in the way of cards. Picked up 5s in the sb, raised, donkish bb called. Flop came T97, all hearts, I have 5h. I bet about 3/5 pot, bb calls. Turn is a 9. I have basically one pot sized bet left. Put it in here, or c/f? The call on the turn didn't tell me much, could be pair or draw, and the guys a donkey anyway. I decide to shove, and get looked up by K7 with Kh. So I'm dead to two outs, and then gone. Shoving bad here? That hand got me muttering to myself, but I think I've convinced myself my play was actually ok (or at least not awful) given the wide range he was calling with on the flop. Frankly, I'd expect him to raise that flop, and then I would have been gone. Oh well, whatever. I'm done thinking about that hand.
The FT $109 I finished third in was unfortunate, was CL in the tournament and couldn't fade a straight draw with no overs against second chip leader three handed. Then next hand got it in JJ against TT against same player, T on the flop. Had a won either of those pots no doubt I win that tournament for an extra 2.5K or so. On the other hand, I kind of ran like a God in that tournament while behind, so I can't really complain. The poker gods giveth, and taketh away.
So it's the 9th now, and I'm up 5300 or so. Very solid start to the month. Can't complain about that.
JohnnyBax was playing on Cake the other day in an afternoon 25R I was in. Or at the very least someone using his screen name. But I'm assuming it was him. He had like 50K in chips. Does this mean real players are going to start playing on Cake? That would be terrible! Leave my donkeys alone! I found 'em first! Plus some of the AP regulars seem to be making their way over there too. I guess you can't have that big a fishbowl without people finding out.
Terrelle Pryor is the truth.
Casino Day! Gonna go hit the new Horseshoe over in Indiana. I still haven't been there since it opened, which is completely unacceptable. So today is the day. I will, as usual while playing cash games, probably just donk around at 1/2 NL, be social and have a good time. Also I live a pretty good life.
After that it'll probably be a light weekend for playing. My birthday is Monday, so I'm having a get together on Saturday of, well, whoever exactly it is that shows up. Cooper's at 9, at Belmont and Racine, if you're interested coming, random blog reader. Whoever it is exactly that reads this thing (hi Mom?).
But yeah, may play Sunday, may not, depends on my mood. Once I clear my birthday I'll be back in full working mode.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
September Wrap
Back on track.
Month: +$7730
Year: $67,155
Didn't play really at all in the last week. Once again I'm content to coast when I get ahead for the month. That's a terrible long term thing to be doing, and I need to stop.
I'll try and get it back ramped up this week, but going to Madison this weekend so that might make it difficult. Need to get some day sessions going in order to get enough hours in.
Month: +$7730
Year: $67,155
Didn't play really at all in the last week. Once again I'm content to coast when I get ahead for the month. That's a terrible long term thing to be doing, and I need to stop.
I'll try and get it back ramped up this week, but going to Madison this weekend so that might make it difficult. Need to get some day sessions going in order to get enough hours in.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
Can't get that Dylan song out of my head.
Figured I'd write an update since I hadn't written in a bit. Though really there's not much to update. Won a small $55 tourney on AP (clearly running like a God on AP right now). Otherwise have spent the rest of the month giving some back. Haven't been playing all that much though relatively. Been too consumed by pennant race and such. I think I'm down to up 7800 or so for the month at this point.
Three days to go in the Mets season. Or at least regular season. Maybe. Or the whole series might get rained out. Gonna be an interesting weekend.
Figured I'd write an update since I hadn't written in a bit. Though really there's not much to update. Won a small $55 tourney on AP (clearly running like a God on AP right now). Otherwise have spent the rest of the month giving some back. Haven't been playing all that much though relatively. Been too consumed by pennant race and such. I think I'm down to up 7800 or so for the month at this point.
Three days to go in the Mets season. Or at least regular season. Maybe. Or the whole series might get rained out. Gonna be an interesting weekend.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Ship AP 30r Redux (Almost)
Wow two in a row! That doesn't happen very often. Got to three handed, here was the key pot against DZ00NUTS:
Stage #1278132961 Tourney ID 2070670 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $20000 - 2008-09-17 02:45:51 (ET)
Table: 19 (Real Money) Seat #8 is the dealer
Seat 6 - DZ00NUTS ($294100.79 in chips)
Seat 7 - BZIMZIM ($426193.86 in chips)
Seat 8 - CHANCECHACE ($150205.35 in chips)
DZ00NUTS - Ante $2000
BZIMZIM - Ante $2000
CHANCECHACE - Ante $2000
DZ00NUTS - Posts small blind $10000
BZIMZIM - Posts big blind $20000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
ealt to BZIMZIM [Jd Jh]
CHANCECHACE - Folds
DZ00NUTS - Raises $50000 to $60000
BZIMZIM - All-In(Raise) $404193.86 to $424193.86
DZ00NUTS - All-In $232100.79
BZIMZIM - returned ($132093.07) : not called
*** FLOP *** [Qd Ad 9c]***
TURN *** [Qd Ad 9c] [10c]
*** RIVER *** [Qd Ad 9c 10c] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DZ00NUTS - Shows [Ac 7c] (Flush, ace high)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Jd Jh] (One pair, jacks)
DZ00NUTS Collects $590201.58 from main pot
Er, wait. Never mind.
But did hang on to finish second. And it's hard to complain about how I've been running, haha. I've pretty much taken over the AP 30r. I've played it four times in the last week, and I've finished first, second, and fourth. I love the AP 30r. Also thanks to the AP 30r, on like a 7k heater over the last two days. It's a relief to be in such a good position midway through the month. Currently up 9200. Also, my 100k yearly goal, which went in the tank with the last two months, might be back in the realm of possibility if I can get some more done this month. But hell, I play multis for a living anyway. I could theoretically make nothing for two months and make thirty grand in a day (hey I made 25). So who knows.
Also qualified for Super Tuesday on Stars yesterday, but three outed for most of my stack. Ah well.
Odds are I'm taking today off, watching some Champions League, playing some soccer tonight. Probably wander around outside some, it's gorgeous out. Gonna be a good day.
Stage #1278132961 Tourney ID 2070670 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $20000 - 2008-09-17 02:45:51 (ET)
Table: 19 (Real Money) Seat #8 is the dealer
Seat 6 - DZ00NUTS ($294100.79 in chips)
Seat 7 - BZIMZIM ($426193.86 in chips)
Seat 8 - CHANCECHACE ($150205.35 in chips)
DZ00NUTS - Ante $2000
BZIMZIM - Ante $2000
CHANCECHACE - Ante $2000
DZ00NUTS - Posts small blind $10000
BZIMZIM - Posts big blind $20000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
ealt to BZIMZIM [Jd Jh]
CHANCECHACE - Folds
DZ00NUTS - Raises $50000 to $60000
BZIMZIM - All-In(Raise) $404193.86 to $424193.86
DZ00NUTS - All-In $232100.79
BZIMZIM - returned ($132093.07) : not called
*** FLOP *** [Qd Ad 9c]***
TURN *** [Qd Ad 9c] [10c]
*** RIVER *** [Qd Ad 9c 10c] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
DZ00NUTS - Shows [Ac 7c] (Flush, ace high)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Jd Jh] (One pair, jacks)
DZ00NUTS Collects $590201.58 from main pot
Er, wait. Never mind.
But did hang on to finish second. And it's hard to complain about how I've been running, haha. I've pretty much taken over the AP 30r. I've played it four times in the last week, and I've finished first, second, and fourth. I love the AP 30r. Also thanks to the AP 30r, on like a 7k heater over the last two days. It's a relief to be in such a good position midway through the month. Currently up 9200. Also, my 100k yearly goal, which went in the tank with the last two months, might be back in the realm of possibility if I can get some more done this month. But hell, I play multis for a living anyway. I could theoretically make nothing for two months and make thirty grand in a day (hey I made 25). So who knows.
Also qualified for Super Tuesday on Stars yesterday, but three outed for most of my stack. Ah well.
Odds are I'm taking today off, watching some Champions League, playing some soccer tonight. Probably wander around outside some, it's gorgeous out. Gonna be a good day.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Ship AP 30r
Hey, that's better! I like that title for an entry. Just when I get annoyed at 2 outers, etc, there comes that tournament where I run like a God, and then I love poker again. I was actually down to 2000 chips at 500/1000. Shove KTo, up to 7200. Then three hands in a row:
Stage #1277352078 Tourney ID 2070669 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1000 - 2008-09-16 00:31:58 (ET)
Table: 10 (Real Money) Seat #4 is the dealer
Seat 1 - Z06FANATIC ($11653.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - TRACKER2TR ($34967.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GETINITIN ($12303 in chips)
Seat 4 - YACHRED ($8071 in chips)
Seat 5 - BZIMZIM ($8019.50 in chips)
Seat 6 - ACESJAMMI111 ($15457 in chips)
Seat 7 - BRUCECMC ($4368.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZOOTEDJAY ($10005 in chips)
Z06FANATIC - Ante $100
TRACKER2TR - Ante $100
GETINITIN - Ante $100
YACHRED - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Ante $100
ACESJAMMI111 - Ante $100
BRUCECMC - Ante $100
ZOOTEDJAY - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Posts small blind $500
ACESJAMMI111 - Posts big blind $1000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Qd Qs]
BRUCECMC - Folds
ZOOTEDJAY - Folds
Z06FANATIC - Folds
TRACKER2TR - Folds
GETINITIN - Folds
YACHRED - All-In(Raise) $7971 to $7971
BZIMZIM - All-In $7419.50
ACESJAMMI111 - Folds
YACHRED - returned ($51.50) : not called
*** FLOP *** [10c Js 10h]
*** TURN *** [10c Js 10h] [2s]
*** RIVER *** [10c Js 10h 2s] [9h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
YACHRED - Shows [Jd 7d] (Two Pair, jacks and tens)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Qd Qs] (Two Pair, queens and tens)
BZIMZIM Collects $17639 from main pot
Stage #1277352771 Tourney ID 2070669 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1000 - 2008-09-16 00:32:58 (ET)
Table: 10 (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 1 - Z06FANATIC ($11553.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - TRACKER2TR ($34867.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GETINITIN ($12203 in chips)
Seat 4 - YACHRED ($51.50 in chips)
Seat 5 - BZIMZIM ($17639 in chips)
Seat 6 - ACESJAMMI111 ($14357 in chips)
Seat 7 - BRUCECMC ($4268.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZOOTEDJAY ($9905 in chips)
Z06FANATIC - Ante $100
TRACKER2TR - Ante $100
GETINITIN - Ante $100
YACHRED - Ante $51.50
BZIMZIM - Ante $100
ACESJAMMI111 - Ante $100
BRUCECMC - Ante $100
ZOOTEDJAY - Ante $100
ACESJAMMI111 - Posts small blind $500
BRUCECMC - Posts big blind $1000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Jd Qs]
ZOOTEDJAY - Folds
Z06FANATIC - Folds
TRACKER2TR - Folds
GETINITIN - Folds
BZIMZIM - Raises $10000 to $10000
ACESJAMMI111 - All-In(Raise) $13757 to $14257
BRUCECMC - Folds
BZIMZIM - Calls $4257
*** FLOP *** [Jh 10c Js]
*** TURN *** [Jh 10c Js] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [Jh 10c Js 3d] [9h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
YACHRED - Shows [7c 9d] (Two Pair, jacks and nines)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Jd Qs] (Three of a kind, jacks)
ACESJAMMI111 - Shows [Ad Ah] (Two Pair, aces and jacks)
BZIMZIM Collects $29853.50 from side pot-1
BZIMZIM Collects $412 from main pot
Stage #1277353300 Tourney ID 2070669 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1200 - 2008-09-16 00:33:44 (ET)
Table: 10 (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 1 - Z06FANATIC ($11453.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - TRACKER2TR ($34767.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GETINITIN ($12103 in chips)
Seat 5 - BZIMZIM ($33547.50 in chips)
Seat 7 - BRUCECMC ($3168.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZOOTEDJAY ($9805 in chips)
Z06FANATIC - Ante $125
TRACKER2TR - Ante $125
GETINITIN - Ante $125
BZIMZIM - Ante $125
BRUCECMC - Ante $125
ZOOTEDJAY - Ante $125
BRUCECMC - Posts small blind $600
ZOOTEDJAY - Posts big blind $1200
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [3s Ah]
Z06FANATIC - Folds
TRACKER2TR - Folds
GETINITIN - Folds
BZIMZIM - Raises $10800 to $10800
BRUCECMC - Folds
ZOOTEDJAY - All-In $8480
BZIMZIM - returned ($1120) : not called
*** FLOP *** [9h Jc 5h]
*** TURN *** [9h Jc 5h] [2h]
*** RIVER *** [9h Jc 5h 2h] [5d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BZIMZIM - Shows [3s Ah] (One pair, fives)
ZOOTEDJAY - Shows [Kd Qs] (One pair, fives)
BZIMZIM Collects $20710 from main pot
Two hands later, won a 28k pot against Z06 after three outing him, AQ v. AK aipf (sorry Z). Clearly I run like a god. From here I went into aggro mode, and stole a lot of blinds and antes without getting in too much trouble. Got down to 6 handed and it was me, norcalsurf and 4 of the worst players I've ever seen. Norcal got three outed out of the tourney. I caught a three outer all in to double up. And that was pretty much the tournament. Once I became chip leader I just raised like crazy, and for the most part no one else wanted to play. I've never seen an entire table go into playing for second place money mode so early. It was kind of embarassing. By the time it was four handed I raised essentially every unopened pot. And had a damn lot of fun doing it. By the time it got HU I had like a 9:1 CL, and it was over in one hand. Good times.
So now up 6500 midway through the month. Hey this month doesn't suck. It is excellent not to be digging out of massive hole this month. Now I'll see if I can really get it going and post a big number.
Stage #1277352078 Tourney ID 2070669 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1000 - 2008-09-16 00:31:58 (ET)
Table: 10 (Real Money) Seat #4 is the dealer
Seat 1 - Z06FANATIC ($11653.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - TRACKER2TR ($34967.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GETINITIN ($12303 in chips)
Seat 4 - YACHRED ($8071 in chips)
Seat 5 - BZIMZIM ($8019.50 in chips)
Seat 6 - ACESJAMMI111 ($15457 in chips)
Seat 7 - BRUCECMC ($4368.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZOOTEDJAY ($10005 in chips)
Z06FANATIC - Ante $100
TRACKER2TR - Ante $100
GETINITIN - Ante $100
YACHRED - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Ante $100
ACESJAMMI111 - Ante $100
BRUCECMC - Ante $100
ZOOTEDJAY - Ante $100
BZIMZIM - Posts small blind $500
ACESJAMMI111 - Posts big blind $1000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Qd Qs]
BRUCECMC - Folds
ZOOTEDJAY - Folds
Z06FANATIC - Folds
TRACKER2TR - Folds
GETINITIN - Folds
YACHRED - All-In(Raise) $7971 to $7971
BZIMZIM - All-In $7419.50
ACESJAMMI111 - Folds
YACHRED - returned ($51.50) : not called
*** FLOP *** [10c Js 10h]
*** TURN *** [10c Js 10h] [2s]
*** RIVER *** [10c Js 10h 2s] [9h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
YACHRED - Shows [Jd 7d] (Two Pair, jacks and tens)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Qd Qs] (Two Pair, queens and tens)
BZIMZIM Collects $17639 from main pot
Stage #1277352771 Tourney ID 2070669 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1000 - 2008-09-16 00:32:58 (ET)
Table: 10 (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 1 - Z06FANATIC ($11553.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - TRACKER2TR ($34867.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GETINITIN ($12203 in chips)
Seat 4 - YACHRED ($51.50 in chips)
Seat 5 - BZIMZIM ($17639 in chips)
Seat 6 - ACESJAMMI111 ($14357 in chips)
Seat 7 - BRUCECMC ($4268.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZOOTEDJAY ($9905 in chips)
Z06FANATIC - Ante $100
TRACKER2TR - Ante $100
GETINITIN - Ante $100
YACHRED - Ante $51.50
BZIMZIM - Ante $100
ACESJAMMI111 - Ante $100
BRUCECMC - Ante $100
ZOOTEDJAY - Ante $100
ACESJAMMI111 - Posts small blind $500
BRUCECMC - Posts big blind $1000
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [Jd Qs]
ZOOTEDJAY - Folds
Z06FANATIC - Folds
TRACKER2TR - Folds
GETINITIN - Folds
BZIMZIM - Raises $10000 to $10000
ACESJAMMI111 - All-In(Raise) $13757 to $14257
BRUCECMC - Folds
BZIMZIM - Calls $4257
*** FLOP *** [Jh 10c Js]
*** TURN *** [Jh 10c Js] [3d]
*** RIVER *** [Jh 10c Js 3d] [9h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
YACHRED - Shows [7c 9d] (Two Pair, jacks and nines)
BZIMZIM - Shows [Jd Qs] (Three of a kind, jacks)
ACESJAMMI111 - Shows [Ad Ah] (Two Pair, aces and jacks)
BZIMZIM Collects $29853.50 from side pot-1
BZIMZIM Collects $412 from main pot
Stage #1277353300 Tourney ID 2070669 Holdem Multi Normal Tournament No Limit $1200 - 2008-09-16 00:33:44 (ET)
Table: 10 (Real Money) Seat #5 is the dealer
Seat 1 - Z06FANATIC ($11453.50 in chips)
Seat 2 - TRACKER2TR ($34767.50 in chips)
Seat 3 - GETINITIN ($12103 in chips)
Seat 5 - BZIMZIM ($33547.50 in chips)
Seat 7 - BRUCECMC ($3168.50 in chips)
Seat 8 - ZOOTEDJAY ($9805 in chips)
Z06FANATIC - Ante $125
TRACKER2TR - Ante $125
GETINITIN - Ante $125
BZIMZIM - Ante $125
BRUCECMC - Ante $125
ZOOTEDJAY - Ante $125
BRUCECMC - Posts small blind $600
ZOOTEDJAY - Posts big blind $1200
*** POCKET CARDS ***
Dealt to BZIMZIM [3s Ah]
Z06FANATIC - Folds
TRACKER2TR - Folds
GETINITIN - Folds
BZIMZIM - Raises $10800 to $10800
BRUCECMC - Folds
ZOOTEDJAY - All-In $8480
BZIMZIM - returned ($1120) : not called
*** FLOP *** [9h Jc 5h]
*** TURN *** [9h Jc 5h] [2h]
*** RIVER *** [9h Jc 5h 2h] [5d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
BZIMZIM - Shows [3s Ah] (One pair, fives)
ZOOTEDJAY - Shows [Kd Qs] (One pair, fives)
BZIMZIM Collects $20710 from main pot
Two hands later, won a 28k pot against Z06 after three outing him, AQ v. AK aipf (sorry Z). Clearly I run like a god. From here I went into aggro mode, and stole a lot of blinds and antes without getting in too much trouble. Got down to 6 handed and it was me, norcalsurf and 4 of the worst players I've ever seen. Norcal got three outed out of the tourney. I caught a three outer all in to double up. And that was pretty much the tournament. Once I became chip leader I just raised like crazy, and for the most part no one else wanted to play. I've never seen an entire table go into playing for second place money mode so early. It was kind of embarassing. By the time it was four handed I raised essentially every unopened pot. And had a damn lot of fun doing it. By the time it got HU I had like a 9:1 CL, and it was over in one hand. Good times.
So now up 6500 midway through the month. Hey this month doesn't suck. It is excellent not to be digging out of massive hole this month. Now I'll see if I can really get it going and post a big number.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Buckeye Therapy Session
Three things that need to change before we can get back to being an elite program:
1. Talent
I think this game clarified the talent difference between us and USC. USC is more talented than us at virtually every position. Of course USC is the most talented team in the country as well. But if we want to win championships, national championships and not Big Ten ones, the talent level has to improve. Nowhere is this more obvious than on the offensive and defensive lines. One scout referred to our O line after the game as having "four Ohio projects." Only Boone was a highly rated recruit. Well obviously that's not getting it done. Our offensive line came out OK, but in the second half they may as well have not even been there. It's not like this is new. The questions about our offensive line have been building and building. Right now, they just aren't very talented. That's solved through recruiting, and to be fair, with bringing in the national recruits last year, the makeover of the offensive line is underway. It also means if there's a player like Marcus Hall in Ohio, a national O line recruit in our own backyard (not just that, he goes to fucking Glenville, our main feeder school where Ginn is the coach!), we absolutely can't afford to miss on a player like that. Long considered an OSU lock, everyone feels less confident recently. USC still hasn't offered, and I pray to God they don't. But there's just no short term answer there on the O line. Not talented enough.
The same could probably be said about our WRs right now, though we didn't provide enough protection to really find out. Hartline actually said he thought he and Robiskie were running open after the game, so maybe that wasn't the problem. USC blitzed a lot (read: basically anytime Boeckman was in), so it's not surprising there was space out there. Still, the criticism of them is that they aren't game breakers, which I think is correct. The wide receiver who looked like he belonged out there was Ray Small, who was recruited by USC and was a national recruit. He's long been an enigma, but no one doubts his talent. He actually played well too. That's something I can add to my good list. But again, more game breakers needed. True freshman DeVier Posey is going to be a star, and I think he'll play more and more as the season goes on. I love Dane as the possession WR. I'm less concerned about the future of the WR position, we've got guys with the ability, especially if Small is finally going to get his shit together.
The RBs were OK. I thought Boom ran hard for what the O line gave him. That said, it's obvious there's only one star player on this offense right now. And he didn't play. Would he have made the difference between winning and losing? Of course not. But the effect on this offense when he's not out there is hard to miss. And Beanie will be gone next year. We'll be awful young at RB next year, with Boom probably starting, Saine hasn't figured it out. He's a track champion, but he plays tenative and slow. National recruit Jamaal Berry is coming in from Florida, and given the lack of depth he'll probably get touches right away.
I'm not going to pile on Boeckman, everyone's favorite punching bag. He is what he is. Frankly, I kinda feel bad for him. He has one million people in Columbus saying Todd Boeckman sucks. I think if he could stand back there in the pocket and take a nap like Sanchez, he'd be pretty good too. There aren't a million people in Columbus saying Bryant Browning sucks or Ben Person sucks, even though frankly that's the bigger problem. That said, obviously he hasn't progressed like we're hoping. He's just not very good, and he's clearly lost his confidence. This is another position where obviously I'm not worried about the future of the talent level. Pryor is going to play more and more throughout this year. I love Pryor so much already. He has the ability to be a legend. I don't use that word lightly. Legends don't need last names. Archie is a legend. Eddie is a legend. Florida not withstanding, Troy is a legend. People will forget (or at least forgive) about the one game. Hell, Eddie's teams played in the Citrus Bowl every year, but he couldn't be more beloved.
The defensive line: not even close to good enough. Our defensive tackles, on the national scale, just aren't very good. On our 2002 championship team, that was the unit that won us the game. More talent, better recruiting needed. That's hard position to recruit, especially because Ohio produces so few quality DTs. That's a position we need to go national on. Sometimes there were holes in our line that we may as well have been Virginia, or like that USC-Nebraska game a couple years ago. It obviously wasn't like that on every play, but there were plays where it did look like that. I still think we have talent at DE, but didn't play very well. Waiting for the light to go on to go to the next level for Heyward, Gibson.
The LB performance is obviously tied to the DTs, who were getting absolutely worked. That said, anyone still taking JL over Rey? I wouldn't. And I've been a Cushing doubter, but I was very impressed. On our side, not so much. Our LBs are not great at getting off blockers. Technically precise, good in space, but not mean and/or playing with an edge.
The corners were fine. We'll miss Jenkins when he's gone. Chekwa's a good one. I hope Washington gets his shit together. We need him. I thought the safety play was horrid. Anderson Russell, yikes. I forgot Kurt Coleman was on the field. On the other hand, they controlled the point of attack so much they didn't really need to throw that much. And we didn't get much pressure. It's possible I'm being way too hard on the safeties.
Overall, sort of like the Florida game, the defense wasn't good, but it also was screwed all day. Our offense accounted for -4 points and the USC offense almost always had good field position. It's hard for any defense to function in those circumstances.
2. Coaching
After the Florida game, the Florida players made comments about knowing exactly what was coming. I mostly dismissed it. Then LSU said the same thing. And then Sanchez basically said the same thing yesterday. I was slow to come around, but clearly something is wrong on the coaching front, and the schemes that we're running are way, way too predictable. Our passing game in particular is not inventive and has a total lack of sophistication.
What's particularly frustrating about this is that Tressel doesn't seem to acknowledge that anything is wrong. Is this going to be the plan? Every time we get thumped we just say, well, we have no earthly idea what happened. But gosh, we'll go out and try hard next time. What does it take for something to have to change?
3. Mental Toughness
This is the most discouraging thing of all. What has made Tressel's teams so formidable under his tenure is that they were always so mentally strong. 2002, national title, overtime, 4th and 14, Krenzel throws a strike to Michael Jenkins, first down. In fact, for the entire first six years of Tressel's tenure, those teams were always mentally tough. And then Florida. We scored first, they punched back, we folded. Same against LSU. Same against USC. What happened? Where is the leadership on this team? When did we become the team that folds, that's psychologically fragile? When did we turn into Michigan State?
At this moment this is just not a very mentally strong team. I'm not optimistic about going at Wisconsin right now. What happens when Wisconsin hits back? Cause they will. That's a good football team. I don't think we're done losing games this year. But worse than that is that the program has assumed the identity of everyone that hates us. We really do just fold in big circumstances. That's maybe the hardest thing. How do you change that identity back? Until we do, we are what everyone thinks we are.
1. Talent
I think this game clarified the talent difference between us and USC. USC is more talented than us at virtually every position. Of course USC is the most talented team in the country as well. But if we want to win championships, national championships and not Big Ten ones, the talent level has to improve. Nowhere is this more obvious than on the offensive and defensive lines. One scout referred to our O line after the game as having "four Ohio projects." Only Boone was a highly rated recruit. Well obviously that's not getting it done. Our offensive line came out OK, but in the second half they may as well have not even been there. It's not like this is new. The questions about our offensive line have been building and building. Right now, they just aren't very talented. That's solved through recruiting, and to be fair, with bringing in the national recruits last year, the makeover of the offensive line is underway. It also means if there's a player like Marcus Hall in Ohio, a national O line recruit in our own backyard (not just that, he goes to fucking Glenville, our main feeder school where Ginn is the coach!), we absolutely can't afford to miss on a player like that. Long considered an OSU lock, everyone feels less confident recently. USC still hasn't offered, and I pray to God they don't. But there's just no short term answer there on the O line. Not talented enough.
The same could probably be said about our WRs right now, though we didn't provide enough protection to really find out. Hartline actually said he thought he and Robiskie were running open after the game, so maybe that wasn't the problem. USC blitzed a lot (read: basically anytime Boeckman was in), so it's not surprising there was space out there. Still, the criticism of them is that they aren't game breakers, which I think is correct. The wide receiver who looked like he belonged out there was Ray Small, who was recruited by USC and was a national recruit. He's long been an enigma, but no one doubts his talent. He actually played well too. That's something I can add to my good list. But again, more game breakers needed. True freshman DeVier Posey is going to be a star, and I think he'll play more and more as the season goes on. I love Dane as the possession WR. I'm less concerned about the future of the WR position, we've got guys with the ability, especially if Small is finally going to get his shit together.
The RBs were OK. I thought Boom ran hard for what the O line gave him. That said, it's obvious there's only one star player on this offense right now. And he didn't play. Would he have made the difference between winning and losing? Of course not. But the effect on this offense when he's not out there is hard to miss. And Beanie will be gone next year. We'll be awful young at RB next year, with Boom probably starting, Saine hasn't figured it out. He's a track champion, but he plays tenative and slow. National recruit Jamaal Berry is coming in from Florida, and given the lack of depth he'll probably get touches right away.
I'm not going to pile on Boeckman, everyone's favorite punching bag. He is what he is. Frankly, I kinda feel bad for him. He has one million people in Columbus saying Todd Boeckman sucks. I think if he could stand back there in the pocket and take a nap like Sanchez, he'd be pretty good too. There aren't a million people in Columbus saying Bryant Browning sucks or Ben Person sucks, even though frankly that's the bigger problem. That said, obviously he hasn't progressed like we're hoping. He's just not very good, and he's clearly lost his confidence. This is another position where obviously I'm not worried about the future of the talent level. Pryor is going to play more and more throughout this year. I love Pryor so much already. He has the ability to be a legend. I don't use that word lightly. Legends don't need last names. Archie is a legend. Eddie is a legend. Florida not withstanding, Troy is a legend. People will forget (or at least forgive) about the one game. Hell, Eddie's teams played in the Citrus Bowl every year, but he couldn't be more beloved.
The defensive line: not even close to good enough. Our defensive tackles, on the national scale, just aren't very good. On our 2002 championship team, that was the unit that won us the game. More talent, better recruiting needed. That's hard position to recruit, especially because Ohio produces so few quality DTs. That's a position we need to go national on. Sometimes there were holes in our line that we may as well have been Virginia, or like that USC-Nebraska game a couple years ago. It obviously wasn't like that on every play, but there were plays where it did look like that. I still think we have talent at DE, but didn't play very well. Waiting for the light to go on to go to the next level for Heyward, Gibson.
The LB performance is obviously tied to the DTs, who were getting absolutely worked. That said, anyone still taking JL over Rey? I wouldn't. And I've been a Cushing doubter, but I was very impressed. On our side, not so much. Our LBs are not great at getting off blockers. Technically precise, good in space, but not mean and/or playing with an edge.
The corners were fine. We'll miss Jenkins when he's gone. Chekwa's a good one. I hope Washington gets his shit together. We need him. I thought the safety play was horrid. Anderson Russell, yikes. I forgot Kurt Coleman was on the field. On the other hand, they controlled the point of attack so much they didn't really need to throw that much. And we didn't get much pressure. It's possible I'm being way too hard on the safeties.
Overall, sort of like the Florida game, the defense wasn't good, but it also was screwed all day. Our offense accounted for -4 points and the USC offense almost always had good field position. It's hard for any defense to function in those circumstances.
2. Coaching
After the Florida game, the Florida players made comments about knowing exactly what was coming. I mostly dismissed it. Then LSU said the same thing. And then Sanchez basically said the same thing yesterday. I was slow to come around, but clearly something is wrong on the coaching front, and the schemes that we're running are way, way too predictable. Our passing game in particular is not inventive and has a total lack of sophistication.
What's particularly frustrating about this is that Tressel doesn't seem to acknowledge that anything is wrong. Is this going to be the plan? Every time we get thumped we just say, well, we have no earthly idea what happened. But gosh, we'll go out and try hard next time. What does it take for something to have to change?
3. Mental Toughness
This is the most discouraging thing of all. What has made Tressel's teams so formidable under his tenure is that they were always so mentally strong. 2002, national title, overtime, 4th and 14, Krenzel throws a strike to Michael Jenkins, first down. In fact, for the entire first six years of Tressel's tenure, those teams were always mentally tough. And then Florida. We scored first, they punched back, we folded. Same against LSU. Same against USC. What happened? Where is the leadership on this team? When did we become the team that folds, that's psychologically fragile? When did we turn into Michigan State?
At this moment this is just not a very mentally strong team. I'm not optimistic about going at Wisconsin right now. What happens when Wisconsin hits back? Cause they will. That's a good football team. I don't think we're done losing games this year. But worse than that is that the program has assumed the identity of everyone that hates us. We really do just fold in big circumstances. That's maybe the hardest thing. How do you change that identity back? Until we do, we are what everyone thinks we are.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
2nd Cake 30r; Some (Ineffective) Bluffs
Played full day Monday. Day of frustration ended on a good note with a 2nd place finish in the Cake 30r. Still haven't won that tournament like a swore I would, but I'm sure I will. Otherwise had finished 13th with 12 qualifiers in a satty for the 1K WCOOP event on Sunday, and was annoyed, and took some beats in some big pots the rest of the day. But hey things happen. At least the day ended on a good note. Now up about 2.5K to start the month, so at least I won't spend the entire month feeling like I'm digging out of a giant hole.
Here are three hands that had a big impact on deciding the outcome of the Cake 30r. RespectMGame is a Cake regular that plays fairly TAG (for a multi player anyway, which is a sliding scale). As a result I tried to control the action, as I had done for the rest of the tournament, but got burned a couple times. Here's hand 1, still three handed:
Hand #16182CA330002761: $25,000 GUARANTEED!! - R&A
Seat 3: Resp*** (656465.00 in chips)
Seat 4: bzimzim (416814.00 in chips)
Seat 8: VoxM*** (351221.00 in chips)
RespectMGame posts ante of $1,000
bzimzim posts ante of $1,000
VoxMan posts ante of $1,000
VoxM***: posts small blind $5,000
Resp***: posts big blind $10,000
Dealt to bzimzim [ Kc Jd ]
bzimzim: raises to $26,000
VoxM***: folds
Resp***: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ 3c 6c 5h ]
Resp***: checks
bzimzim: checks
# # # TURN # # # [ Qc ]
Resp***: bets $20,000
bzimzim: raises to $60,000
Resp***: calls
&&& RIVER &&& [ Qs ]
Resp***: checks
bzimzim: bets $70,000
Resp***: calls***
SHOW DOWN ***
bzimzim: shows [ Kc Jd ] (Pair of Queens )
Resp***: shows [ 3h Ad ] (Two Pairs, Queens and Threes )
Resp*** wins $320,000 with Two Pairs, Queens and Threes
I'd been cont. betting a lot, but hard to represent that flop, so happy to take a card off. Pick up the flush draw on the turn and raised, he called. I didn't put him on much. Queens paired on the river, and I bluff in a way that attempts to look like a value bet. He tanks and eventually calls. NC. I still like the way I played it. He had to put a lot of chips in with bottom pair.
Now heads up:
Hand #16182CA330002775: $25,000 GUARANTEED!! - R&A
Seat 3: Resp*** (925065.00 in chips)
Seat 4: bzimzim (499435.00 in chips)
RespectMGame posts ante of $1,200
bzimzim posts ante of $1,200
Resp***: posts small blind $6,000
bzimzim: posts big blind $12,000
Dealt to bzimzim [ Ts Kc ]
Resp***: raises to $29,000
bzimzim: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ Js 4c 3d ]
bzimzim: checks
Resp***: bets $30,200
bzimzim: raises to $85,000
Resp***: calls
# # # TURN # # # [ 9c ]
bzimzim: bets $120,000
Resp***: raises to $300,000
bzimzim: folds
Resp***: returns uncalled bet $180,000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Resp***: mucks
Resp*** wins $470,400
I interpreted his bet as a standard c-bet and c/r with air. He calls. Here I get stubborn and fire again, which I hate in retrospect. If he's calling the c/r, he's probably going with it. Plus he'd try to pick up pots with smallish bets in relation to the pot a lot of the time, I might have been able to see a cheap river. I don't like my play here.
Final hand:
Hand #16182CA330002793: $25,000 GUARANTEED!! - R&A
Seat 3: Resp*** (861730.00 in chips)
Seat 4: bzimzim (562770.00 in chips)
RespectMGame posts ante of $1,200
bzimzim posts ante of $1,200
Resp***: posts small blind $6,000
bzimzim: posts big blind $12,000
Dealt to bzimzim [ Th Kd ]
Resp***: calls
bzimzim: raises to $35,000
Resp***: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ 9h 9d 8d ]
bzimzim: bets $42,000
Resp***: calls
# # # TURN # # # [ 5c ]
bzimzim: checks
Resp***: bets $42,000
bzimzim: raises to $134,000
Resp***: calls
&&& RIVER &&& [ 2h ]
bzimzim: is all in 350570.0000
Resp***: calls
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bzimzim: shows [ Th Kd ] (Pair of Nines )
Resp***: shows [ 8c 6s ] (Two Pairs, Nines and Eights )
Resp*** wins $1,125,540 with Two Pairs, Nines and Eights
Again, I'm not sure I actually mind my play in this spot. I'm representing big here. My c/r on the turn is something I'll also do with a big hand. Again, I put him on a marginal holding, and I actually thought he might have had a draw, in which case my shove wins it for sure. Instead he calls with a weak 8. Another good call. Sometimes the other guy just plays better.
The only thing I wonder about in retrospect is whether I played too aggro against this guy in general. clearly he was willing to call me light, and had the impression I could put chips in without much of a hand. Which I could obviously. But maybe it would have paid to be a little more solid and attempt to get paid. On the other hand, if the key to no limit is to force the other guy to a decision, I did plenty of that. Just didn't work out this time.
3 days until Ohio State-USC.
Here are three hands that had a big impact on deciding the outcome of the Cake 30r. RespectMGame is a Cake regular that plays fairly TAG (for a multi player anyway, which is a sliding scale). As a result I tried to control the action, as I had done for the rest of the tournament, but got burned a couple times. Here's hand 1, still three handed:
Hand #16182CA330002761: $25,000 GUARANTEED!! - R&A
Seat 3: Resp*** (656465.00 in chips)
Seat 4: bzimzim (416814.00 in chips)
Seat 8: VoxM*** (351221.00 in chips)
RespectMGame posts ante of $1,000
bzimzim posts ante of $1,000
VoxMan posts ante of $1,000
VoxM***: posts small blind $5,000
Resp***: posts big blind $10,000
Dealt to bzimzim [ Kc Jd ]
bzimzim: raises to $26,000
VoxM***: folds
Resp***: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ 3c 6c 5h ]
Resp***: checks
bzimzim: checks
# # # TURN # # # [ Qc ]
Resp***: bets $20,000
bzimzim: raises to $60,000
Resp***: calls
&&& RIVER &&& [ Qs ]
Resp***: checks
bzimzim: bets $70,000
Resp***: calls***
SHOW DOWN ***
bzimzim: shows [ Kc Jd ] (Pair of Queens )
Resp***: shows [ 3h Ad ] (Two Pairs, Queens and Threes )
Resp*** wins $320,000 with Two Pairs, Queens and Threes
I'd been cont. betting a lot, but hard to represent that flop, so happy to take a card off. Pick up the flush draw on the turn and raised, he called. I didn't put him on much. Queens paired on the river, and I bluff in a way that attempts to look like a value bet. He tanks and eventually calls. NC. I still like the way I played it. He had to put a lot of chips in with bottom pair.
Now heads up:
Hand #16182CA330002775: $25,000 GUARANTEED!! - R&A
Seat 3: Resp*** (925065.00 in chips)
Seat 4: bzimzim (499435.00 in chips)
RespectMGame posts ante of $1,200
bzimzim posts ante of $1,200
Resp***: posts small blind $6,000
bzimzim: posts big blind $12,000
Dealt to bzimzim [ Ts Kc ]
Resp***: raises to $29,000
bzimzim: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ Js 4c 3d ]
bzimzim: checks
Resp***: bets $30,200
bzimzim: raises to $85,000
Resp***: calls
# # # TURN # # # [ 9c ]
bzimzim: bets $120,000
Resp***: raises to $300,000
bzimzim: folds
Resp***: returns uncalled bet $180,000
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Resp***: mucks
Resp*** wins $470,400
I interpreted his bet as a standard c-bet and c/r with air. He calls. Here I get stubborn and fire again, which I hate in retrospect. If he's calling the c/r, he's probably going with it. Plus he'd try to pick up pots with smallish bets in relation to the pot a lot of the time, I might have been able to see a cheap river. I don't like my play here.
Final hand:
Hand #16182CA330002793: $25,000 GUARANTEED!! - R&A
Seat 3: Resp*** (861730.00 in chips)
Seat 4: bzimzim (562770.00 in chips)
RespectMGame posts ante of $1,200
bzimzim posts ante of $1,200
Resp***: posts small blind $6,000
bzimzim: posts big blind $12,000
Dealt to bzimzim [ Th Kd ]
Resp***: calls
bzimzim: raises to $35,000
Resp***: calls
@@@ F_L_O_P @@@ [ 9h 9d 8d ]
bzimzim: bets $42,000
Resp***: calls
# # # TURN # # # [ 5c ]
bzimzim: checks
Resp***: bets $42,000
bzimzim: raises to $134,000
Resp***: calls
&&& RIVER &&& [ 2h ]
bzimzim: is all in 350570.0000
Resp***: calls
*** SHOW DOWN ***
bzimzim: shows [ Th Kd ] (Pair of Nines )
Resp***: shows [ 8c 6s ] (Two Pairs, Nines and Eights )
Resp*** wins $1,125,540 with Two Pairs, Nines and Eights
Again, I'm not sure I actually mind my play in this spot. I'm representing big here. My c/r on the turn is something I'll also do with a big hand. Again, I put him on a marginal holding, and I actually thought he might have had a draw, in which case my shove wins it for sure. Instead he calls with a weak 8. Another good call. Sometimes the other guy just plays better.
The only thing I wonder about in retrospect is whether I played too aggro against this guy in general. clearly he was willing to call me light, and had the impression I could put chips in without much of a hand. Which I could obviously. But maybe it would have paid to be a little more solid and attempt to get paid. On the other hand, if the key to no limit is to force the other guy to a decision, I did plenty of that. Just didn't work out this time.
3 days until Ohio State-USC.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Full Day Today
Last week was a relatively light week, and nothing much to report from it. More or less even for the month to this point. Going to ramp it up this week, play at least some every day with some full days in there. Today is full day number 1, let's go. Feeling good about my play and ready to pwn some donkeys.
Five days until OSU-USC. Yesterday I was absolutely terrifed. Today I'm a little more excited. But still a lot terrified. I actually feel comforted though that everyone in the country, in the words of Peter King, thinks it'll be over by halftime. The "nobody believes in us" card is cliche, but it's a great motivator.
Five days until OSU-USC. Yesterday I was absolutely terrifed. Today I'm a little more excited. But still a lot terrified. I actually feel comforted though that everyone in the country, in the words of Peter King, thinks it'll be over by halftime. The "nobody believes in us" card is cliche, but it's a great motivator.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
August Wrap
August: $1894
Year to date: $59,425
Despite posting an even lower number than I did last month (slightly), I feel a lot better about it. Probably because my major emotion about the month could best be described as "relief".
I'm going to be traveling a decent amount in the next month and a half, so I'm really going to have to work to keep my hours up. Which I'm determined to do, since I'm particularly determined to have a good month this month, after two disappoinments in a row.
I do feel like I was playing significantly better by the end of the month. That's the level of play I'm hoping to maintain.
Year to date: $59,425
Despite posting an even lower number than I did last month (slightly), I feel a lot better about it. Probably because my major emotion about the month could best be described as "relief".
I'm going to be traveling a decent amount in the next month and a half, so I'm really going to have to work to keep my hours up. Which I'm determined to do, since I'm particularly determined to have a good month this month, after two disappoinments in a row.
I do feel like I was playing significantly better by the end of the month. That's the level of play I'm hoping to maintain.
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